India’s February crude imports, product exports rise

India’s February crude imports, product exports rise

India's February crude imports, product exports rise

Mumbai, 4 March (Argus) — India's crude imports and oil product exports rose last month as Indian state-controlled refineries operated at maximum or higher capacity.

India imported 4.5mn b/d of crude and condensate in February, up from January's 4.3mn b/d, preliminary data from oil analytics firm Vortexa showed.

The country imports over 80pc of its crude requirements, most of it from the Middle East. Shipments from the region remained unchanged at 3mn b/d in February from the previous month.

But there was a 91pc fall in crude imports from Russia to 4,500 b/d from 69,000 b/d in January.

The largest quantity was imported from Africa with a 34pc increase from January and from the Americas, especially from North America, with a 24pc rise on the month.

Crude deliveries rose to 640,000 b/d from 476,000 b/d in January from Africa and to 758,000 b/d from 614,000 b/d in January from the Americas.

As in January, the most popular grade among Indian refiners was Iraqi Basrah Heavy, although imports declined to 542,000 b/d from 551,000 b/d in January. India also took 510,000 b/d of Saudi Arab Light in February, up from 344,000 b/d the previous month, while shipments of Basrah Medium rose